Miracle of a Brother's Song

By EJKatz

Based on a true story (at end if you want spoilers)

A scream echoed through the house suddenly. Three year old Blair swung his head up in sudden fear. He knew that voice. That was his mommy. He scrambled up on his pudgy little legs and raced towards the front hall. Emma stopped him by catching him up against her ample bosom.

"Mommy, Mommy!" he cried as two men in white appeared in the hallway pushing a stretcher out the front door. Tears streamed down the tiny face, brilliant blue eyes blurred with the moisture. Suddenly his daddy was there, taking him into his strong loving arms.

"Blair," William told his son who looked up at him in fear. "Your mommy will be okay but it's time for Jimmy to be born. You can come to the hospital in a few hours with Emma, after Jimmy comes, okay?"

"mommy?" the tiny voice asked in trepidation.

"Shh," William crooned as he hugged the pint-size child who trembled in fear for his mommy. "It's okay, Blair. Mommy is fine and so is Jimmy. Promise to be a good boy?"

The curly headed child nodded, causing his curls to bounce wildly. The wet eyes seemed to search into William's very soul searing it with the pain that filled them, although his oldest child was trying, fighting so hard to hold back the tears that pooled in huge, luminescent blue orbs.

"Good boy." His daddy handed him back to Emma who hugged him tightly. Blair wrapped his baby arms around her neck and laid his head on her shoulder as his daddy left to go with mommy.

~*~*~

William cringed as he glanced at the clock again. His beloved wife had been in surgery for nearly three hours, and that was after nearly fifteen hours of agonizing labour. The doctors had finally decided that they would have to do a C-section.

William dropped into the hard plastic chair of the waiting room. Anger and hurt coursed through him, combining with a nearly irrational fear that he would lose both of them. He couldn't do it. He couldn't go on without her. But what of poor Blair. The three year old had been looking forward to this new brother for months, since Naomi had first told him she was going to have a baby.

He smiled slightly as he remembered the first time he'd heard the faint little voice that wavered as it sang. William remembered that day very well, nearly nine months ago. He'd heard the sounds and followed them to where Blair was lying beside Naomi who was napping. Blair was trying so hard to be quiet but he was singing softly to her belly.

//You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray

You never know, dear, how much I love you, Please don't take my sunshine away---//

The scene had brought tears to his eyes and he knew that everything would be perfect. Every night Blair had sung to baby Jimmy, every night that same song. They'd even caught him singing and humming it when Naomi hadn't been in the room.

Unfortunately, Naomi began to have problems. Her blood pressure rose a frightening level and twice already, she'd been hospitalized. Once she'd begun bleeding and had to be rushed to emergency. The last two months she'd been confined to bed except to get up to use the washroom or just take a walk to relieve the aches of prolonged bed rest. She'd been ordered to do no strenuous exercise.

Naomi had been a free spirit from the day William had met her. But they had fallen in love so hard and so fast that she had never regretted giving up her wandering ways. They'd been married in a small church with only a few very close friends as witnesses. For two years they traveled the world together, fulfilling Naomi's need to wander and travel and just generally explore the world. At the same time, William learned more about himself and the world than he had ever known.

They'd had to cut short the last trip when Naomi found herself pregnant. Nine months and four days later little Blair Ellison was born. A healthy, happy little boy with tiny bow shaped lips and big wide blue eyes that stared so trustingly up at his father when he’d held him for the first time.

William had laughed tears of joy at the smile that Blair had happily bestowed on William just thirty seconds before he threw up. Even that had been a joy. Watching Naomi nurse the child, watching mother and son bond had brought such untold levels of happiness and peace to William, that he hadn't thought it could be topped until Naomi had informed him of the imminent arrival of Jimmy.

She had spent hours with Blair,explaining to him about the new addition, making sure he didn't feel left out or excluded. In fact he was allowed to help decorate the nursery, he picked out toys and books to read to the new baby. Then he started singing.

William felt the tears begin to surface again. He felt so helpless. Even the simple painkillers Naomi had been given had failed to relieve her agony. He'd held her hand through each painful contraction, kissed her brow when they had gone and wiped her face of the sweat that accumulated, tolerating each piercing cry that tore at his heart with her pain.

William feared for his wife and child. The doctor had said everything was fine but deep down in his heart, William knew something was very wrong.

"Mr. Ellison?" a voice asked.

William looked up into the face of Dr. Waters, the OB who was assisting on his wife's case. "My wife, how is she?"

"She is fine. She's been taken to the Recovery Ward. I won't lie to you, Mr. Ellison, she has a tough road ahead of her but I expect her to make a full recovery."

"And the baby?"

There was silence for far too long. William felt his heart sink.

"I am sorry, it doesn't look good. He's in ICU, but to be honest, Mr. Ellison, I am not sure he will make it. His breathing is erratic at best, his vitals are weak and unsteady. We are doing everything we can, but I'm sorry that I cannot promise more."

Numbly, William nodded his understanding of the news. "Can I see him?"

"Of course. The nurse can take you in. Your wife will be in room 712 when she is out of Recovery. You can see her then."

"Thank you." He was unaware of the doctor leaving, only of the deep sorrow that wracked his heart.

~*~*~

The days merged together. At first it was waiting for Naomi to be well enough to go home. Her resilience did not surprise him. The first night when he'd told her the news about Jimmy,she'd cried. Deep heart-wrenching sobs which shook both their bodies as he held her tightly. Then, Blair was brought in to see his mommy. He wanted to see Jimmy but was told his brother was too sick to see anyone.

That had not been a pleasant scene. The normally wellbehaved child had a temper tantrum of giant proportions, forcing William to take him home. Blair cried for an hour before finally exhaustion drove him into a deep and restless sleep. William had stayed up with him, watching his eldest son sleep.

It had been a week since Jimmy's birth. Instead of getting better, the doctors informed them that his condition was deteriorating. He was unresponsive with an erratic heartbeat. They told the distraught parents to begin planning the funeral.

So today… today they were packing up the nursery. Well actually, Naomi was sitting in the rocking chair where she had rocked Blair for hours every night when they'd first brought him home. William watched in silence from the doorway, tears making tracks down his cheeks at the forlorn expression on his wife's face. She looked up and caught his eyes.

"I can't, William. I can't. It would be like giving up hope. Like saying that my son is dead already and while there is still breath in his little body, I just can't do this." Naomi's gentle voice cracked on the painful words.

Immediately he was at her side. She leaned into his arms as tears fell once more.

"mommy?" Blair's small voice asked from the doorway. "Can I go sing to Jimmy today?"

William smiled tremulously at the now familiar question. For the last ten days Blair had asked the same question. The first time, Naomi had called to ask if she could bring Blair in to see Jimmy. The nurses had informed her that children were not permitted in ICU where Jimmy rested.

Now, it looked like Jimmy would not survive the night and this would be the last time that Blair would ever have to meet his brother. Naomi stiffened and leaned out of her husband's arms. She opened hers to her son who ran across the room and jumped into her lap. His pudgy arms wrapped tightly around her neck and he kissed her cheek softly.

"Yes, Baby. Let's go and say good bye to Jimmy. And you can sing to him," Naomi said firmly. William caught her eye and nodded both his understanding and his acceptance.

The drive to the hospital was spent in silence with the exception of Blair's humming. The same song that for nine months he'd sung to his brother.

Tears welled in Naomi's eyes as she struggled to see enough to drive. They pulled into the parking lot and Naomi found a spot near the front door. Blair fairly bounced in his car seat with excitement of meeting his brother. Although both Naomi and William had tried to explain that Jimmy was dying, and tried to explain the idea of dying to the three year old, he refused to believe that Jimmy wasn't going to be coming home. His faith in his brother was astounding.

Naomi unbuckled the boy from his car seat and held his hand as they entered the hospital. They made their way up to the ICU. Naomi dressed first herself and then her son in the required scrub suits. Then they headed into the ICU. Jimmy's tiny bed was in a far back corner away from the hustle and bustle of the corridors and fortunately away from the nurse's desk.

They were halfway across the room when the head nurse returned.

"Excuse me, but you will have to take him out of here. Children are forbidden in ICU.

"Well," Naomi began. "This may be the last time my son has to meet his brother and we are not leaving until he's sung to Jimmy. Now if you have a problem with that, you call security or whatever you have to do but my son is going to sing to his brother."

The nurse actually shrank back from the vehemently spoken words long enough for Naomi to guide Blair around her and over to Jimmy.

She stood back and let the young boy to toddle over to the crib.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray ---" Blair sang softly, his tiny cherubic hands gently stroking the tiny head of the baby. The machines monitoring the vitals of the baby suddenly steadied but Blair knew nothing of this, he only wanted to sing for his brother. "You never know, dear, how much I love you, Please don't take my sunshine away---"

As Naomi and the nurse watched, the baby began to breathe easier, his heartbeat for a tiny second jumped, then remained steady. Small, contented sounds came out of his tiny mouth and a hand moved as if trying to reach for the singer.

"The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my arms..."

The nurse sniffled once before wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'll get the doctor," she told Naomi. Naomi wiped at the tears that fell from her own face as she witnessed a miracle.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. Please don't, take my sunshine away."

~*~*~

The very next day William, Naomi and Blair all arrived at the hospital ready to take the much-improved Jimmy home. The funeral, which William had completed the planning for, had been joyfully scrapped. They had hustled around when the doctors had told Naomi that they would be able to take Jimmy home the next day. That night had been spent in happiness rather than the expected sorrow.

A new car seat had been added to the back seat of Naomi's truck, beside Blair who had stroked it every few seconds and whispered Jimmy's name. He'd hummed the entire way to the hospital and up the elevator.

"So, this is the young man who sang to his brother and made him all better, is it?" the doctor asked when they reached the neo-natal floor.

"I'm Blair," the three year old told him. "I'm taking Jimmy home with me."

"Yes, yes you are." The doctor ruffled the curls, then motioned for the parents to follow him. A nurse approached them, carrying the tiny bundle that was James Joseph Ellison. Naomi gratefully accepted the baby, then knelt carefully so Blair could see him.

Pale blue eyes slid open as pudgy fingers stroked the brow. Blue met blue and smile met smile as brothers met face to face for the first time.

"Hello, Jimmy. I'm your brother, Blair. Welcome to the family."

The End???

KEEP ON SINGING

Like any good mother, when Karen found out that another baby was on the way, she did what she could to help her 3-year old son, Michael, prepare for a new sibling. They find out that the new baby is going to be a girl, and day after day, night after night, Michael sings to his sister in Mommy's tummy.

The pregnancy progresses normally for Karen. Then the labor pains come. Every five minutes ... every minute. But complications arise during delivery. Hours of labor. Would a C-section be required?

Finally, Michael's little sister is born. But she is in serious condition. With siren howling in the night, the ambulance rushes the infant to the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Mary's Hospital, Knoxville, Tennessee.

The days inch by. The little girl gets worse. The pediatric specialist tells the parents, "There is very little hope. Be prepared for the worst."

Karen and her husband contact a local cemetery about a burial plot. They have fixed up a special room in their home for the new baby - now they plan a funeral.

Michael, keeps begging his parents to let him see his sister, "I want to sing to her," he says.

Week two in intensive care. It looks as if a funeral will come before the week is over. Michael keeps nagging about singing to his sister, but kids are never allowed in Intensive Care. But Karen makes up her mind. She will take Michael whether they like it or not. If he doesn't see his sister now, he may never see her alive.

She dresses him in an oversized scrub suit and marches him into ICU. He looks like a walking laundry basket, but the head nurse recognizes him as a child and bellows, "Get that kid out of here now! No children are allowed."

The mother rises up strong in Karen, and the usually mild-mannered lady glares steel-eyed into the head nurse's face, her lips a firm line. "He is not leaving until he sings to his sister!" Karen tows Michael to his sister's bedside. He gazes at the tiny infant losing the battle to live. And he begins to sing. In the pure hearted voice of a 3-year-old, Michael sings:

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray ---" Instantly the baby girl responds. The pulse rate becomes calm and steady. Keep on singing, Michael.

"You never know, dear, how much I love you, Please don't take my sunshine away---"

The ragged, strained breathing becomes as smooth as a kitten's purr.

Keep on singing, Michael "The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my arms..."

Michael's little sister relaxes as rest, healing rest, seems to sweep over her.

Keep on singing, Michael.

Tears conquer the face of the bossy head nurse. Karen glows.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. Please don't, take my sunshine away."

Funeral plans are scrapped. The next day ,the very next day, the little girl is well enough to go home!

Woman's Day magazine called it "the miracle of a brother's song." The medical staff just called it a miracle.